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Oh, it isn't the zoomies, he goes nuts biting and jumping on me...zoomies would be great.

That is the zoomies. Gone into high play drive, and tag, your it!

Id be channelling that energy into safer zoomies. Use a frisbee, ball whatever and allow him to let off steam.

When he comes bounding toward you, about turn so your back is turned. He's less likely to jump and bite, especially if you can time the frisbee to catch his eye before he pounces so he's chasing that, not sinking his teeth into your arm.

go outside to greet him. more room to explode safely there.

up the walks by double

get children involved in playing 'where's x' fetch etc, burn off that exuberance

I love zoomies! My guys have a special circuit they run round a particular wall in the house and it is hilarious. We are often in hysterics watching them. Pippi is super fast and agile, and Barney is big and lumbering but as he is a bit older he has learnt some tricks she doesnt know (i.e. he goes in the opposit direction to catch her as she comes round).

Our zoomies often involves biting (or mouthing) when we join in. It's somewhat "encouraged" here, that is how the play (with their mouths) and we let them. However, they are taught from day dot "Gentle" so the biting never really gets out of control.

If my dog bites me - that's the end of the game for a while. At least 30 seconds. I don't do any scolding or stern talking - because that can actually encourage the dog to be excited. I'm quiet and boring as I can be.

I do ignore my dog for a few minutes when I get home - to encourage calm behaviour. And my dog does get a bit playful before and after dinner - but I like to wait a while after dinner - 30 minutes or more - before playing or encouraging exercise - because of the risk of "bloat" ie exercise immediately after dinner can cause gut problems in some dogs. Probably not a cav cross, but it's like going for a swim immediately after a meal - not healthy.

I also find playing tug in the semi dark - is fraught with peril for my hands - so I don't do that. Neither of us can see properly so the risk of hand chomping despite her best intentions (she doesn't do it in the daylight), is too high. I try a bit of fetch instead. Or just hands on gentle patta-pusha dog.

If she does grab me and not let go immediately - I push my hand gently towards the back of her mouth until she tries to spit me out. And then I let her spit me out. And we don't play for 30 seconds. No scolding, no eye contact, turn away. 30 seconds. Being boring.

I do most of my training before dinner - or for dinner.

You may also want to try a bit of "it's yer choice" - hold a treat in your hand and let him mouth it, and when he backs off, open your hand. If he tries to steal the treat, close your hand. If he doesn't try to steal the treat, pick it up with your other hand and give it to him. If he tries to snatch the treat before you get to put it in his mouth, put it back in the other hand and close it. If he puts teeth on your fingers holding the treat, take the treat out of his mouth and put it back in the other hand and close that hand.

This is going to hurt the first couple of times, if he grabs, push, but hopefully he will learn the only way to get the treat is to back off and stop trying to steal it and then you will put it in his mouth. And this is one game you might want to try after dinner the first couple of times.

I find when I'm training and rewarding heelwork on the move, it helps to deliver the treat in a flat hand - just held between two fingers, but near the palm not the tips of my fingers. Like giving a horse a treat with flat hand to encourage use of lips and tongue to get the treat, not teeth on fingers.

Yep, i need to step up all he training and make him work a bit harder, ie ignore if too mouthy, and have enrolled in clicker training classes level 1 at rspca! I can see it is going to help a lot. I have chosen to use a word, as the trainer said the clicker can get in the way, so its a high pitched happy "pop".

Whether you click and treat or say "yes" or "pop" and treat or just shove the treat in the dog's mouth, depends what you're trying to train.

Most dogs will spit whatever they have in their mouth out, to get a treat. So teaching "leave it" or "give" or "thank you" (eg drop what you have in your mouth and give it to me), is usually as easy as saying the cue word and offering something much more delicious than what they have.

So I use a clicker if I want something really precise like lifting up one back leg. I use "yes" to let dog know she's doing what I want and she will get a treat soon. Sometimes saying that means she comes back to me for the treat or looks at me for a treat when that's not what I want, and then I will just shove the treat in her mouth without saying anything. Or throw it to the position I want her in for the reward (eg training back up - yes and throw treat between her front legs).

I'm not sure I'd want to use a clicker to train bite inhibition. You can't click for "stop that", you click for "do that".